Effective speaker cabinet design accounts for interaction between the characteristics of one or more of a loudspeaker, an amplifier, and cabinet alignment values. In a combination (“combo”) design, an amplifier is housed with one more speakers in a wooden cabinet. A standalone amplifier arrangement (often called a “head” or “amp head”) does not include a speaker and passes electrical current through a speaker cable to the speaker cabinet or “cab.”
A loudspeaker, or speaker, may include an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical signal into sound. The speaker moves in accordance with the variations of an electrical signal and causes sound waves to propagate through air. An amplifier may be designed to make the signal of an electric or acoustic guitar louder and may modify tone by emphasizing or de-emphasizing certain frequencies and by adding electronic effects.
Sound waves from the speaker can become trapped between the back of the amplifier and/or speaker and a back panel of the cabinet. The right angles of cabinet corners, in particular, may absorb or slow down sound waves, causing an increase in pressure. The tapped sound and redirected waves represent lost audio potential. Moreover, the escaping, unfocused sound waves may cancel, distort, or otherwise be out of synchronization with the other sound waves.